Summary

Delightfully Evil.

The Good

As one of the last "big" titles for the Nintendo 64, and one of Rare's last "Nintendo" titles, this game went places you never thought a Nintendo game could go. To date, I've still never seen a game that crams in as much profanity, blood, gore, sexual innuendo, drunkenness, gross-out tactics in the first few levels alone, and what's truly shocking about all of it, it that it's actually FUNNY. Unlike a lot of games that just cram in things for shock value, the things presented here actually have a purpose.... As far as things go in the game, anyway.

Graphically, the game is gorgeous, with lots of diverse areas, special effects, and great facial expressions for the characters, all of this without the use of the Expansion Pak. As far as sound goes, the music goes from unbearingly happy, to some of the most impressive techno that's never spun off of a CD. The voices are great, and the game never shuts up for a second. Absolutely stunning for a cartridge game, and nothing ever came close to this title. Every burp, fart, and zombie groan remain as clear as can be.

As for the humor, yes, it's definitely not for the easily offended, but in all the crude grossness, there are some truly clever movie parodies, and even just some of the casual conversations are just funny. The game has a squirrel who is trapped in a world he drunkenly staggered into and doesn't understand, which in a way, seems like a bizarre version of "Alice in Wonderland". Conker gets irritated with the situations around him. He just wants money and to get home to his girlfriend.... While having a good time along the way, of course. He's definitely an anti-hero with personality.

The Bad

Since it's a Rare game, that means lots of fetch quests and item findings. And sometimes, that just gets old. However, the gameplay is so diverse, it keeps it from getting tedious too much too often. And with it being a 3D title, the camera does a good job in keeping up, but sometimes, there are just some angles that get irritating, which leads to a lot of falling or too precise of walking over troubled areas. But really, the bads are so minor in comparison to the "goods" that this game offers.

The Bottom Line

It's a shame that this came out so late, and Nintendo's perceived "kiddie" image turned some gamers away from the system and missing the title. The game is hilarious, and the humor ranges from the crude and nasty to really clever puns and hilarious conversations. The humor's a little more sophisticated in the game than one would expect. This is NOT a title for the easily offended, because as classic and unforgettable as it is, not everyone's going to find the humor in battling a giant, opera-singing pile of poo.

The game deserved more recognition that it got, as even Nintendo had very little to do with this title. But for one of the best all-time titles on the system, there may be room for Mario and Zelda, but a little drunken squirrel named Conker also pulled out of of the most impressive games around. For the Nintendo 64 and for gaming in general.